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| Photo Credit: Alex Lake |
I seem to be in the midst of an internal musical revolution of some kind. While I’m still very much drawn towards pop and electronica, I find myself listening to a lot of alternative rock these days. I haven’t really been into alt rock since my high school days (as I mentioned in my Cranberries post). I have a feeling that this internal shift has something to do with my situation right now, maybe a bit to do with my mood as well. When it comes to alt rock, Keane is the best of the best and their brand new single, “Silenced By The Night” is no exception.
Released worldwide on March 16th (April 29th in the UK), “Silenced By The Night” was written by Keane and produced by Dan Grech-Marguerat (Lana Del Rey, The Kooks, Scissor Sisters, Dragonette). It’s the first single lifted off the band’s upcoming fourth studio album, Strangeland, which is due out May 7th in the UK (Island Records) and May 8th in the U.S. (Cherrytree/Interscope Records). Strangeland will be Keane‘s first album in four years, and to kick off promo for the new record, the band played two sold out fan shows in March at their local venue, the De La Warr Pavillion in Bexhill, followed by their first ever performances at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin Texas.
I know Keane has been around for a while now, but here’s a little refresher since it has been four years since Perfect Symmetry. Keane is singer Tom Chaplin, drummer Richard Hughes, keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley and Bassist Jesse Quin. The band first hit it big with their debut album Hopes & Fears back in 2004. That album was a #1 hit in the UK, went 9x Platinum, won a coveted Best Album BRIT Award, spawned two top five UK singles (“Somewhere Only We Know” – #3; “Everybody’s Changing” – #4), a top ten single (“Bedshaped” – 10) and a top twenty single (“This Is The Last Time” – #18).
Not only did Keane‘s 2006 sophomore album, Under The Iron Sea debut at #1 on the UK Albums Chart, but it became the band’s highest charting album in America, peaking at #4 on the Billboard 200 chart (Hopes & Fears only peaked at #45). While not as successful as their debut, over in the UK Under The Iron Sea did spawn a top 5 single (“Is It Any Wonder?” – #3) and two top twenty hits (“Crystal Ball” – #20; “Nothing In My Way” – #19). 2008’s Perfect Symmetry became Keane’s third consecutive #1 album in the UK, peaking at a respectable #7 in America. Singles-wise, Perfect Symmetry never really found a hit. Lead single “Spiralling” peaked at #23, while subsequent singles, “The Lovers Are Losing,” “Perfect Symmetry” and “Better Than This” all dropped off significantly.
Taking there sweet time, instead of releasing another album right away, the band released an EP in 2010 called Night Train, which managed to hit #1 in the UK and a decent enough #25 in America. The EP produced one single, the K’NAAN assisted “Stop For a Minute,” which peaked at #40 on the UK Singles Chart. Now, it appears that the band is ready to put out a full length album of new material which is great because I’m pretty sure the fans are just as excited if not more so.
If you were hoping to catch Keane on tour this summer, you’re in luck! See BELOW for a list of tour dates. Also BELOW, the beautiful video for “Silenced By The Night.” Directed by renowned video director Christopher Sims (Lady Antebellum, Cassie, Stone Temple Pilots), the video was shot in a lime salt mine in Austin, Texas and follows the story of two friends on a road trip, with aspirations of becoming more than friends.
Download “Silenced by The Night” on U.S. iTunes HERE and pre-order it on UK iTunes HERE. U.S. fans can also pre-order Strangeland HERE (UK fans HERE). The album’s second single, “Disconnected” will be released on April 20th in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Set for an April 16th premiere, the video was shot for the single in a haunted house in Barcelona by Spanish directors Juan Antonio Bayona and Sergio G. Sanchez.
Tour Dates:
June 14th//N. Bethesda, MD//Music Center At Strathmore
June 16th//Philadelphia, PA//Merriam Theater
June 18th//Montreal, QC//Olympia de Montreal
June 19th//Toronto, ON//The Sound Academy
June 21st//Nashville, TN//Marathon Music Works
June 22nd//Chicago, IL//The Vic
June 23rd//Milwaukee, WI//Pabst Theater
June 25th//Denver, CO//Paramount Theater
June 26th//Salt Lake City, UT//The Gallivan Center
June 30th//Oakland, CA//The Fox Theater